


Hasetsu's Ancient Secrets

by FanWriter83



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime), yuri on ice
Genre: Abandonment, Angst, Fear, Katsuki Yuuri merman, Long-Haired Victor Nikiforov, M/M, Otabek altin merman, Pain, Phichit merman, Sadness, Victor merman, add more when story progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-03-16 04:41:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13628799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanWriter83/pseuds/FanWriter83
Summary: Full Moon patrol? Piece of cake, right? NOT. Yuuri, Phichit and Otabek fail their duty and a silver haired human falls right in their home, turning him into one of them. After that, the three mermen are forced to do the unthinkable. Go on land, find the man and reverse everything so their pod will lift the banishment. However, it's not as easy as they originally thought.





	1. Cast Out

The waves crashed softly onto the shores of Hasetsu, a small coastal town in Japan. It was a chilly Mid-February day and despite of the sun trying its best to bring the temperature a bit up and lure the residence of the small town, the beach was empty. All it did now was sparkle playfully on the waves, reflecting colorful sparkles and shapes on the quiet ocean floor. Colorful fishes and other creatures that inhabited the waters enjoyed the quietness as they swam through the colorful reefs, either just swimming around or searching for food. However, the calmness was short-lived when suddenly two torpedo-like shapes sped through the water, leaving a trail of bubbles and 'chaos' behind.

The two torpedo-like shapes proceed speeding around and chasing the creatures away for another few minutes then make way up and break the surface with their heads. The two torpedo-like shapes happened to be two young mermen.

The youngest of the two, Phichit, is a friendly and cheerful 17 year old merman, and always optimistic. He has a tanned skin, dark grey eyes and short black hair with a fringe that reaches below his eyebrows, something he truly hates. Phichit loves racing with his friends and sometimes he even challenges dolphins. He's even capable of beating some of them thanks to his strong, navy blue tail. Even though he's very playful, Phichit can also be very serious, especially when it comes to his studies in mer-school, unlike his best friend, Yuuri.

Yuuri is known as 'the merman with the ocean's biggest glass heart.' He is soft hearted and easily devastated in the face of failure and sometimes the 19 year old merman tends to slip into a depression for months. He then tends to binge eat during that period of time and gains weight. Once his friend, Phichit, pulled him out of one of those depressions and challenged him into a few races, he turns back into top form and even has slight muscles due to those exercises. Nonetheless, his face maintains a soft appearance. His usually short, messy black hair always slid back when he swam fast, which was something Phichit wished his hair would do.

Unlike his friend, Yuuri hates mer-school and rather spends time watching land people, which is against every rule the mer-council had set up. If you got caught you either got banned from the pod or put under strict cave-arrest. Scared to be banned away from his sister, Yuuri obeyed the rule.

Unlike all the other mermen of his pod, Yuuri has a two-colored tail. His is just as black as his hair with here and there some silver-colored dots and stripes. One of the elderlies' a teacher in the mer-school, told him that some say the color of the markings can tell you what color of tail your 'partner' will have. Shortly after, the other mermen and mermaids of his age bullied him, and told him he would stay alone forever, because a silver colored tail was very rare for mer-people.

Even though he's quiet, kind and easily embarrassed, Yuuri can also be extremely competitive and never declines one of his friend's challenges.

"See?! I'm still the fastest swimmer!" Phichit laughed cheerful, soon the both of them broke the surface with their heads.

Yuuri just laughs in return; "One day I'm going to beat you fair and square, Phichit!"

"In your dreams!" Phichit said, emphasising every word by poking Yuuri's chest and the two burst into another fit of laughter afterwards. Their playfulness was cut off when they heard the water splash behind them. They turned around abruptly and found three mermaids surfacing the water.

"Mari!" Yuuri chocked out, looking like they were caught in the middle of a crime. Then again, they actually were. The head of the mer-council had signed them and pod's delinquent, Otabek, up for Full Moon Patrol. It was their job to scare fishermen away so they would keep their prying eyes away from the underwater caves below Hasetsu. Tonight it was extra important to keep humans away because it was 'graduation' night for some of the pod members. Mari and her two friends were one of them.

While eyeing her brother with a disappointed look, Mari inhaled a deep breath then said, holding her index finger and thumb slightly parted; "I am this close to receiving my moon ring, Yuuri! If the pod finds you here neglecting their orders, they come at me and then I'll probably have to wait another whole year before I get another chance of graduating."

"But Mari…" Yuuri wailed with a pout on his face. "Full Moon Patrol is so boring! Why can't we celebrate like everyone else?!"

Mari's frustration slowly vaporises and she wraps a comforting arm around her brother then smiles; "Only a few more years, Yuuri, then you and Phichit will earn your graduation gifts and have your own celebration."

"Yeah, right…" Yuuri rolled his eyes. "Phichit maybe, but not me. I hate mer-school, remember?"

"Yeah. Yuuri rather lets his hair blow in the wind as he prances into the sunset…" Phichit chimed in with a grin then quickly dropped his eyes when he saw Mari's scowl. Then he murmured; "Ah, look at the time. We really need to find Otabek and return to our duties."

Yuuri watched his friend dive back underwater and was just about to follow when Mari grabbed his arm and said; "Your schoolwork is another thing I want to discuss with you, Yuuri, and I will, tomorrow. Please keep your head on the job. Tonight is really important for me and the last thing we want is getting caught in the fishing nets."

"Yes, Mari…" Yuuri replied back then dove under and searched for his friend who waited for him near the coral and poked the fish, making them spurt away in different directions. Yuuri tapped Phichit on the arm then beckoned him with a firm pull of his head before they made way towards the surrounding islands where their underwater home was located.

A few minutes later, Yuuri and Phichit saw a light blue tail pointed downwards while the rest of the body, mainly the head, was above the surface. Probably to check the surroundings. Both Yuuri and Phichit quickly surfaced the water and found the back of Otabek's head.

"You're late!" the pod's troublemaker pointed out, not taking the effort to turn around and address them properly. "I will be checking the far shores while you two get the rest! We'll meet back here!"

And with that, Otabek dove under and disappeared. Phichit glanced at his friend then asked; "Who put him in charge?" Yuuri merely shrugged then dove back under followed by Phichit.

The two friends stayed close together as they propel themselves through the water, securely scanning the water surface above them. So far it just looked like it was just going to be another normal full moon without any trouble. Which was good a thing, but it would even be better if they were allowed to celebrate like the others instead of being stuck with the most easiest duty ever.

Meanwhile, not far away from the two mermen, a small row boat with three humans and a brown poodle floated on the water's currents. Two out of three started to prepare their fishing rods while the youngest, a blond teen, scowled angrily while scanning the water. The brown poodle slept lazily on the bottom of the boat.

"You know I HATE the water!" the blond boy suddenly growled, looking mainly at the silver haired 23year old, who merely laughed in return. It angered the teen even more. "I could be in a onsen right now and eat normal food instead of staying the night on the beach and eat fish prepared by an old man who can't even boil an egg!"

The silver haired man, Viktor Nikiforov, also known as Russia's legendary and five time world champion figure skater, grinned as he threw his rod out; "Aw, and here I was thinking cats actually like to eat fish."

"Yeah, and if you hate the water so much, why don't you help us? The sooner we caught our dinner, the sooner we can go back to the tents," Chris, a 22 year old male figure skater said, grinning madly.

"You guys won't catch anything!" the Russian teen scowled. "Hiroko said so herself! She said something lives in these water that chases the fish away. She said fishermen claim they see weird things happening during a full moon. Have I already mentioned IT'S A FULL MOON TONIGHT?!"

"Yuri, relax," Viktor laughed, patting his poodle's head who had woken up after Yuri's loud words. "It's all just some silly make-believe stories. Nothing weird will happen."

Unaware to the three males in the boat, Yuuri and Phichit break the water line behind them, locking their eyes onto their target.

"Can you imagine living without a tail?"

"Hmm.." Yuuri hummed with a dreamily look. To be honest, he had pictured himself without a tail many times and even wondered how it would be like to have legs. Then, when he notices his friend's odd look, Yuuri quickly straightened his face and cleared his throat. "How about we help them catching something?"

Phichit's eyes nearly dropped from his sockets in shock then gasped; "Yuuri, are you crazy?! Our job is to scare the fish away so the land people won't come too close to the underwater caves!"

"Only because we help them catching one stupid fish, doesn't mean they'll get close to the caves. Their miles away from it. Besides, I've heard once a huan got a fish, they'll head back home." A smirk curled up on Yuuri's face. "Let's have some fun, Phichit!"

Before Phichit had the chance to stop him, Yuuri dove back under and swam away towards the small boat. Phichit rolled his eyes then followed. Soon they closed in on the boat, the brown poodle rose up then peeked over the edge of the boat, wagging his tail excitedly. When he saw the two large shape swim under the boat towards the other side, he instantly turned then barked excitedly at the shapes in the water. Due to his weight and playfulness, the boat would have fallen over if Viktor hadn't grabbed a hold on him.

"Makkachin, calm down, will yah? You're scaring the fish away." Viktor laughed then hugged his dog and gave him a quick peck on his forehead. Makkachin however, kept barking excitedly at the water. He definitely wanted to play with whatever the creatures in the water was.

With a strong sudden pull, Chris's bobber disappeared under then kept bobbing up down, indicating he had caught something and it fought to get away. Chris jumped to his feet, then cheered in victory; "Yeah! Looks like a big one, Viktor! I told you I would be the first to catch something."

Yuri, lying lazily in the boat with his feet dangling down the edge, rolled his eyes when Chris tried to pull in his catch of the day. Yet, he's actually catching nothing because below the water surface, Yuuri got a hold on the bait and pulled it up and down while Phichit ordered him to let go by sending frantic hand gestures. Yuuri however, found it all very comical and had to hold his free hand in front of his mouth and nose to not laugh and create air bubbles.

"Yeah!" Chris cheered loudly then suddenly he fell with a thud onto one of the boat seats, grunting annoyed. Viktor laughed loudly.

"Ha! Looks like that one got away!" Viktor also wanted to stick out his tongue to his friend, but he was distracted as soon he saw his bobber go under. The pull was very strong and he had to stand straight to pull back and not lose his rod. Makkachin stood beside his owner barking excitedly. Viktor kept pulling and pulling until he saw something coming to the surface. Something big. "Chris! Get the net! Get the net!"

Chris instantly grabbed the net then launched himself forward and scooped the net into the water where he saw the splashing wrinkles appear. It was quite a struggle but the friends finally managed to get the large fish into the boat.

"Ha! And you said we wouldn't catch anything," Viktor laughed, beaming like the sun. "Look at the size of this animal." Yuri rolled his eyes and Viktor grabbed his phone to make a picture of it, knowing that no one would believe him if he hadn't proof. "Yakov will be so jealous."

At safe distance, both mermen surfaced and glanced at the happy friends in the boat. Yuuri couldn't help but smile and fluster when he saw how happy Viktor was with his catch. Then he saw his friend's look.

"What?"

"You know, a more smaller fish would have worked too."

Yuuri's blush grew. "I know but…he seemed nice."

"Our job is to scare them away, not feeding them!" Both Yuuri and Phichit froze when they heard the sudden voice behind them. After they slowly turned, they met Otabek's angry eyes. Yuuri shrunk half his size in fear.

"S-Sorry…" Yuuri mumbled.

Phichit, not taken back by Otabek's angry glare, said in response; "Look, we thought it would be quicker if we just gave them what we wanted. Humans can be very persistent when it comes to fishing. Even if they didn't catch something for hours, they wouldn't leave until the night sets in. Now they've have their fish, they leave."

Phichit was right. One of the humans, the blond haired one with the brown undercoat, grabbed the oars and started to row the boat around then towards the mainland. He then laughed about something the silver haired man said. Then the blond teen stood up as if he was in charge of the boat and roared to the other human to row faster, because he just couldn't wait being out of the 'awful' water. Otabek wondered why he reminded him of a cat. Playful, yet very dangerous.

Noticing the two stares, Otabek plastered his stoic look back on and snapped; "Everything seems fine! Now we'll just have to get back to the underwater caves and make sure the hatchlings stay inside!"

"Ah, yes, babysit duties…" Phichit sighed when he and Yuuri watched Otabek dive back under. "We'll better get going too."

Yuuri watched Phichit disappear then send one more glance at the small boat in the distance before he followed.

"What's wrong, Makkachin?" Viktor asked when he saw his brown poodle just didn't want to settle back down on the boat floor. While Chris and Yuri argued whether the boat was going fast enough or not, Viktor followed his restless dog's gaze and saw something disappear underwater. It was too far away to tell what it had been, but it definitely had peeked his interest.

* * *

The twilight started to set in and both Yuuri and Phichit waited in one of the underwater caves for Otabek to return with the last hatchlings. When he finally did it was almost completely dark. So was the look on his face.

"Those filthy humans are still on the beach, hiding inside little weird shaped objects. I bet they're staying there all night!" Otabek growled as soon his head came above water. "Thanks to you two I will get into trouble with the mer-council."

Phichit knitted his eyebrows into a frown then asked; "Since when do you care about being into trouble with the mer-council. You're the pod's delinquent, remember?"

"Yeah, so?! Those crimes I did by myself! Now I'll get into trouble because you're friend here decided to give a human a little present! Anyway, maybe we should warn the pod and have them cancel the…

"No!" Yuuri cut Otabek off with a determined look on his face. "I will set things right. I will try scare them away with mermen magic."

Before Phichit or Otabek had the chance to stop him, Yuuri disappeared underwater and swam outside the cave. With one quick flick of his fin he activated his fastest speed and headed towards the beach.

Viktor lied in his tent staring at the ceiling while both Makkachin and Chris snored beside him. Sharing his tent with Chris wasn't something he enjoyed, but it was always better than sharing it with Yuri. The teen always had the habit to seep in a star-fish position and flung his arms and legs everywhere, leaving no room for anyone else. It was still odd though that his cat, Potya, didn't seem troubled by it.

The silver haired skater pulled in a heavy sigh when he fingers laced into the curls of his beloved poodle. His mind wandered back to the 'thing' he had seen in the ocean as they headed back to land. He remembered Yuri's story told by Hiroko Katsuki, a lovely and warm human being. Viktor instantly liked her when Yakov asked for rooms in her inn, but some locals said she was crazy. They said she showed up out of nowhere wearing absolutely nothing and screaming three names before she collapsed into a sobbing mess. When Viktor heard those rumours he felt so sad for her. He was very happy that Yakov didn't take notice of the local rumours and took those rooms instead of running to a different hotel with a more 'sane' owner.

Viktor really enjoyed his stay at the inn. It had a hot spring which he bathed in, like all the time. Yuri seemed to take a liking of the onsen too, but always alone. If someone dared to enter when he used it, he would feel Yuri's wrath. The teen once said, if you'll find yourself into trouble, go for their eyes. Those words started to make sense as soon Viktor found himself interrupting Yuri's private space. He had to wear Mila's make-up for an entire week to hide the scratches.

After sleeping at the inn for two nights, Viktor decided to ask who would be interested in camping a night at the beach. Hiroko's eyes widened at the question and even tried to persuade them to not go. A vicious animal lived in the ocean who chased most of the fish away and dragged people into the water when they had their guard down. After hearing the story, Yuri said he wasn't planned to go anywhere near the water unless it was frozen. Yakov gave him a smack to the head then told him to stop acting less a brat and then volunteered him to come along with Viktor and Chris. He said it would be a nice lesson for Yuri to test his 'survival' skills.

So there they were, camping at the beach and Viktor seemed the only one who couldn't sleep. He had an inner debate with himself whether to believe Hiroko's story or not after he had seen what he had seen. Then again, what did he see? Maybe it all had been nothing else than a shimmer of the sunlight on the water.

Viktor pulled in another deep sigh then decided to take a little walk. To clear his head and hopefully get tired enough to return to his tent and sleep. Once he was outside the tent, he realized how chilly it was. He quickly turned back into the tent only to come out again with a thick sweater then started his little moonlight walk down the beach, alone. Viktor didn't really know why, but as he grew older he kept thinking how beautiful the full moon was. It even had something magical. Maybe one day he would find someone who thought just like him and would take long walks with him down the beach. Maybe even in the middle of the night, when they both couldn't sleep.

Viktor halted his stroll for a moment to take in the ocean view. It looked so magical underneath the pale moon. He even started to hear soft melodies in the distance, as if someone was singing a song.

"Ugh, the sleep deprivation starts to give me hallucinations." Viktor slapped against his own cheeks to snap himself out of it. It didn't work. On the contrary, the singing started to become even louder. The voices started to make him feel a tad dizzy.

Suddenly, there was a soft splash near the rocks. Viktor's mind was instantly distracted and his eyes snapped at the spot he thought the splashing came from. Had it been the waves? What else could it have been? But most importantly, why did he suddenly feel like being watched.

Just as suddenly Viktor had heard the splash he now felt a cold gust of wind. It was so strong it made his long, silver hair fan out into the wind and he even would have tumbled over like a tumble-weed if he hadn't planted his heels deep into the sand. Just before it happened there hadn't been any wind. Was it normal for sudden gusts of wind?

The wind laid down as suddenly as it came and Viktor's mind was starting to become hazy when the soft, beautiful melodies found its way back into his ears. He tried to turn around and walk back to the tents, but each step seemed heavier than the first one. Viktor gave up eventually and sank through his knees into the sand, curling himself up like a tiny ball.

How long he had been lying there, Viktor didn't know but it seemed like he had fallen asleep without knowing it. But why on Earth wasn't he in his tent? Oh yeah, he was out for a little stroll. Viktor rubbed his sleepy eyes as soon as he remembered it then scanned the beach. Suddenly, something disappeared behind the rocks with a soft splash.

Viktor locked his eyes sharply onto the spot and kept them in place for quite some time, waiting for whatever it had been to become curious enough to take another peek at him. It took a few minutes but then Viktor saw another tiny glimpse of a face peeking around the corner of the rock. It vanished just as quickly.

"Whoever you are, please come out! I won't hurt you!" Viktor called out then waited to catch another glimpse. Instead, he felt another strong gust of wind that nearly tumbled him over. Again, it was gone as quickly as it came. Viktor started to wonder if the sudden wind had something to do with the mysterious face behind the rocks. Was it scared? Did it live in the water and did he try to keep him away from the water so he wouldn't be dragged in and eaten by Hiroko's mysterious monster? Was it, or he, still there? "My name is Viktor Nikiforov. You don't have to come out, but could you please tell me your name?!" Viktor waited for a reply, but there was none. He then pulled in a sad sigh, thinking the mysterious person had disappeared.

Viktor rises to his feet then dusts his clothes off before heading back to the tents. But before he did, he quickly glanced at the rocks. It was too dark to tell whether he saw what he thought he saw, but it almost looked like he saw the silhouette of a person. His bottom half was hidden in the water while his upper half was pulled up onto the rocks. Another reason why Viktor wasn't sure he was hallucinating or not was that the silhouette didn't move, at all.

 _"Probably just the setting of the rocks and shadows created by the moonlight,"_ Viktor thought to himself. But then again, he had seen a face. Or had that been a play of shadows as well?

"H-Hello?" Viktor heard himself whisper, narrowing his eyes till they were almost closed and glanced through his eyelashes at the silhouette or hallucination. Tiny chills started to move down his spine then another conclusion came to mind. "Yuri! If that is you trying…

The silhouette suddenly pushed himself fully in the water with a loud splash. Viktor instantly raced towards the rocks, mumbling under his breath; "I knew it, you little punk." Viktor reached the spot then climbed between two rocks over to the water, yelling; "I will get you back for this, Yuri! Get your butt over here so I can…

Viktor's words froze on his tongue when he saw something big, something dark, something with tiny silver dots and stripes shoot away underneath the water surface. His heart started to pound in his throat and ears. What was it? Hiroko's monster? Viktor instantly shot back, away from the water, trembling frightened.

As soon he had some control over his trembling body, Viktor scurried back to the water, quietly then peered into the water but saw nothing. He decided to climb a few miles further down the rocky shores to see if he could catch a glimpse of whatever he had seen, but he found nothing.

Viktor halted for a moment then stared over the ocean and pulled in a deep sigh before he slowly started to turn around and walk back the way he came. But then, instead of watching where he was going, Viktor stepped into a hole between two rocks big enough for a person to fit through. It was exactly what happened to him when he felt no ground, lost his footings and fell.

"AAAH!" Viktor screamed as he felt himself fall a few meters down before hitting a hard surface. The sudden impact made him feel dizzy for a moment then wet and cold. It didn't take long for him to realize he must have fallen into an underwater cave somehow.

Instinctively to not drown, Viktor tried to fight against the foggy feeling in his head and swim back up, swaying his arms and kicking his legs. Then, it felt like several hands lifted his body up back to the surface and kept him floating. For a moment all he could do was staring up into the hole he had fallen through. He wasn't entirely sure what he saw was because of the sudden blow to his head and body, but he saw the full moon high in the sky while tiny water bubbles floated around his head up into the air.

"How…" Viktor tried to say but then his eyelids fluttered before they shut completely and lost conscious.

* * *

"VIKTOR!"

"W-Wha…"

"VIKTOR!"

Viktor opened his eyes slowly when he felt a sharp pain on his cheeks. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the bright morning sun but then he finally saw Chris's and Yuri's worried faces looming over him. He felt something wet lick his ear.

"Makkachin…" Viktor whispered, slowly reaching his hand out to touch his beloved dog. "What happened…?"

"That is something we want to know as well!" Yuri growled. "Chris woke up and found your sleeping bag empty. We waited for like ten minutes hoping you were just taking a leak, but when you didn't come back we practically scanned the entire beach. We finally found you, unconscious."

Viktor tried to think. There were tiny bits and pieces, but nothing solid. Then he stroked his hand down his waist and mumbled; "I feel sore, like I hit something hard. Wait, why am I still damp? Did you guys pull me out of the water?"

"No! We found you like this," Chris replied. "You don't remember anything?"

Viktor thinks again. "I…remember taking a little walk because I couldn't sleep, but then…" Viktor swallowed. "I think I heard someone sing and I saw a face…just around the corner of those rocks." Chris and Yuri both look into the direction Viktor pointed at then shared a worried look. Viktor pulled in a heavy sigh. "Then…I saw a silver shimmering in the water…"

"Definitely sounds like you fell asleep and dreamed.." Chris chuckled, trying to lighten the tension. "How about we just get you back up your feet and to the tents. We'll make some tea to warm you up then head back to Y-utopia."

Viktor looked at his friends then at the rocky shores. Maybe Chris was right. Nothing in his head made sense at all. Maybe it all had been a dream.

Viktor wrapped an arm around Chris's shoulders for support but as soon as he tried to move up, he felt a sharp pain going through his body and he hit the sand again, grinding his teeth in pain.

"I don't think I can walk."

"Sure you can. You're just a bit sore, stiff and cold. Soon you're warmed up you'll feel better," Chris said.

While shaking his head and clenching his teeth, Viktor lifted up his damp shirt. A big bruise ran down the right side of his waist.

"Well, it looks like we need to get you to a doctor as well," Chris sighed worriedly.

"Great! Yakov will be so pissed!" Viktor winced, clenching his teeth when Chris and Yuri dragged him onto his feet then supported him as they head back to the tents.

* * *

"I feel bad for just leaving him there, unconscious," Yuuri said, resting his head against Phichit's arm. "He looked like he was in pain and…

"Just stop, will yah?!" Otabek growled. "Just stop worrying over the stupid human for a minute and worry more about what will happen to us, to YOU, when the mer-council finds out what happened!"

Phichit frowned. "He just fell in, right? He lost conscious soon after, so why would the council be mad? It's not like he saw anything."

"You really don't know, do you?" Otabek growled then rolled his eyes when he saw the two confused looks. "When a human enters this particular underwater cave during a full moon, the person will sprout a tail every time water touches the skin!"

"NO!" Phichit and Yuuri gasped, their eyes widening in shock.

"Yes!" a stern female voice echoed through the cave. The three mermen turn around and find the head of the mer-council swimming inside followed by the other council members. Neither of them looked very pleased.

Phichit, realizing he had to defend themselves somehow, quickly said; "We didn't let him in! He fell, through there."

"Him?" the head of the council asked while her eyes shot briefly to the opening in the ceiling. "Someone said they saw you three dragging a human with long hair onto the beach!"

"Yeah, a guy with long hair. Humans are weird," Otabek said. "I told them it would be easier to kill him instead of…

"If what you say is true, and something has happened to him I fear for us all!" the head of the council said, cutting Otabek off. "You three stay in here and don't talk with anyone! We will discuss what to do with this threat and with you!"

The two council members and the head of the council dove back underwater and disappeared. The three mermen slowly started to realize the outcome of the council's discussion wouldn't turn out good for them. Especially not for Otabek, who by now had broken many mer-laws and this one might be the last straw.

It seemed like hours before Mari entered the cave, looking very sad and hurt. The look in her eyes said she had bad news.

"Mari, I can explain!" Yuuri chocked out, fearing his actions might have damaged her status in the pod. He would never forgive himself if they punished her for what he done.

"I'm sorry, Yuuri. It's too late…" Mari said, barely louder than a whisper. "You neglected your duties. You let a human, a male, wander too close near our home and you let him into the pool."

"We didn't want him to get powers!" Phichit exclaimed in defence, even though he already knew it wouldn't work.

While dropping her eyes down to the water, avoiding the three pair of eyes, Mari whispered; "The human and this place are now connected and we fear nothing good will come out of it. He won't be able to hide his tail for long. Humans are around water all the time. They wash their clothes in it, they wash themselves in it and they even drink it."

"That's just silly, not to mention disgusting!" Otabek said with a sickened look on his face. "They better not do it in that order."

Mari ignored Otabek's comment and said, not lifting her eyes off the water; "We have to leave."

"We can't! This is our home!" Yuuri gasped and turned pale of the idea of leaving the place behind where he was born. The only connection he and Mari still had with their parents. What if they were still alive somewhere and returned?

"It's not safe here anymore. The other humans will find out what happened to the human who fell in. And once they do, they come after us," Mari said and tears started to pour from her eyes.

Both Yuuri and Phichit felt a hard lump in their throats and felt tears sting behind their eyes. Even Otabek looked like miserable, but he quickly fought back his tears and asked, as bravely looking as he possibly could; "They are right. It's not safe anymore, we must leave. Where will we go?"

Mari felt three pair of eyes lock onto her after Otabek asked the question, forcing her even more into delivering the most painful news. She knew she had to, even though she didn't want to. She was a fully-fledged mermaid now. She officially belonged to the pod, something she had studied for, for years. Something she now wished she hadn't. Now she wished she had taken Yuuri somewhere else instead, raising him on her own.

"I'm so sorry…" Mari finally choked and though she rather not wanted to look her brother in the eyes when delivering the bad news, she felt obligated to do it anyway. She wanted him to know that she wished it was different. She wanted him to know that leaving him ached her heart, but had no other choice. "You've all been cast out."

The news hit hard, Mari could tell. She couldn't help herself and started to cry loudly when she grabbed Yuuri's arm and pulled him into an embrace.

"I tried to speak on your behalf, but they wouldn't listen…" Mari said, hugging her brother while tears streamed down her face. Yuuri didn't move at all, neither did Otabek or Phichit. They all had the same pale look on their faces. Even though it pained her heart, Mari knew there was no other option. She squeezed her brother a bit tighter into her arms then said; "The pod is waiting. I have to go."

"No!" Yuuri exclaimed, tears running down his face as soon his sister released him from her loving arms. "Mari, don't leave me!"

"I'm so sorry, Yuuri…" Mari choked out then removed her graduation gift, a blue ring, from her finger and handed it to her brother. "Here. You might need it more than me."

"No! I don't know how to use it," Yuuri cried, refusing the gift his sister studied for and finally earned it.

Mari grabbed her brother's hand and pressed the ring into it then hugged him one more time before she whispered; "Find somewhere safe."

And with that, Mari touched her brother's face one more time before she slowly moved towards the entrance. Right before she dove under she could hear his cries.

"Mari, don't…don't leave me!"

Both Phichit and Otabek were fighting against their own emotions, not knowing what to do.


	2. First Time on Land

“Who’s idea was it again to do this stupid and ridicules thing?!” Otabek scowled when he, Yuuri and Phichit dragged themselves onto a desolated and secluded cove, far away from prying eyes.

“Mine! And it’s not stupid or ridicules,” Phichit replied then stopped for a moment to catch up his breath and added; “Besides, Mari gave Yuuri her graduation ring to use it. So we use it.”

“I’m pretty sure she didn’t meant for us to use it to get legs!” Otabek snapped then flopped around on his back and rested on his elbows, asking, “Besides, aren’t only mermaids allowed to use it? What if we do something wrong and we end up with jellyfish tentacles?”

Yuuri’s eyes turned frightened and for a moment he wished he hadn’t let Phichit talk him into using his sister’s ring. What if Otabek was right and they used it wrong? They could bring some serious damage to themselves. Mer-magic was not something to take lightly. You had to train hard then graduate.

“What other choice do we have?” Phichit’s voice interrupted Yuuri’s concerned train of thoughts. “Sit around and wait for sharks to eat us? We life in pods for a reason, and we are not strong enough to protect ourselves for long.”

Otabek snorted; “Speak for yourself!” For a moment he pondered if he should abandon the two and find himself a new place. But a part of him knew Phichit was right. Not that he would admit it. Instead he just scowled; “Well, what are we waiting for?”

Yuuri eyed the ring on his finger for a moment then hesitantly took it off and poked a few fingers into the sand to make a small hole big enough for the ring to fit. He then inhaled deep to gather courage then says; “All we have to do is extend our dominant hand and think of human legs.”

“You do know how human legs look like,  right?” Phichit grinned at Otabek then received a glare that was even more coldly than the ice on Antarctica. Phichit quickly turned his eyes onto the ring and copied Yuuri’s hand motion, picturing human legs in his head. Otabek dragged in a heavy sigh before doing the same.

It took approximate a minute before they were engulfed in a short flash and the three of them expected to feel an enormous pain during the transformation, but surprisingly they didn’t feel anything of that sorts. The flash faded away and the three merman felt a soft breeze where their tails were supposed to be. When they turned their heads to look, they found a pair of bare human legs attached to their lower bodies.

Surprised it actually worked, the three boys slowly rose to their new feet, clinging onto one and another for support then taking little, shaky steps.

“It worked! We have legs!” Phichit cried out in excitement then lost his balance and fell back into the sand.

Otabek, supporting himself against the rock wall that separated the cove from the main beach, didn’t seem to share the excitement. Instead he pointed angry at his entire frame and growled; “Yeah, but you forgot one thing, genius!”

Yuuri nodded agreed and added; “Yeah. We need clothes, Phichit.”

Phichit looked thoughtfully.

* * *

Viktor wrapped himself in one of the resort’s morning robes and headed to the onsen. After being fully checked at the hospital and concluding he had no major injuries, he kinda deserved a long hot bath. Especially after Yakov gave him the worst talk of his life by summon up all the possible fractures his foolish adventure could have ended his career. Viktor was still too shaken to retort something witty and just nodded agreed to everything Yakov said.

 _“Oh, that looks quite nasty indeed,”_ Viktor thought to himself when he eyed the purplish bruise. Maybe it was best to avoid ice rinks for a few days.

Viktor first dipped his left toes in the water to check if it was not too hot then slowly stepped in and sat down before resting against the side and waiting for the warm water to relax his muscles. However, something totally out of the ordinary happened. It started with a sensation identical to bubbles in a Jacuzzi, running up from his toes towards his waist.  After the sensation was gone his lower half felt heavier than usual, and for some reason he also couldn’t separate his legs.

Panic filled Viktor’s head when he gazed down at the water, slowly forcing his legs to surface. But instead of legs, a long and very strong looking tail appeared in front of him. It was silver-colored and patterned with black dots and stripes.

Viktor opened his mouth and screamed.

“Stop your pathetic screaming, old man!” Yuri waltzed inside the onsen then froze momentarily when he spotted the reason of Viktor’s screams. He then folded his arms and snorted; “When you said you had a totally unique idea for your next routine, this is not what I expected. Make sure you run this idea through with Yakov before hopping onto the ice in a merman costume.”

Yuri turned around laughing, about to make way back to then stopped when Viktor grabbed his ankle. The young teen looked down in annoyance and met a pair of frightened eyes.

“Yuri! You’ve got to help me! It won’t go off!”

The blonde teen kicked his ankle free and scowled; “Why would I ever help you? Especially after you got yourself into this predicament. I mean, how dumb can you be that you don’t know certain fabrics will shrink in hot water?”

“It’s not a costume, Yuri!” Viktor wailed, clinging both arms around Yuri’s ankles so he had no other option that to stay. He then looked up with teary eyes. “Yuri, don’t leave me! You have to help me!”

Yuri face-palmed for a brief moment then extended his hand, offering Viktor to help him out of the water. It turned out he needed to use both off his hands and quite some strength too. Once Viktor was finally out, Yuri sweated profusely.

“Seriously, when will you start listening to Yakov? He told you to go on a diet like months ago,” the blonde boy panted while wiping his forehead.

“How about you take Yakov’s advice and join the gym a bit more?” Viktor retorted back then flailed his lower half from left to right then wailed; “Look at me! I will never be normal again!”

Yuri rolled his eyes and snorted loudly; “You’ve never been normal, and dressing up as merman at your age proves my point. Anyway, get a hold of yourself, will yah? Just sit tight and I will get this thing off.”

Viktor realized it was no use to try convince the blonde teen it was not a costume and decided to let him find out himself. He watched the boy roll up his sleeves then watched him bend down and grab a hold of the end of the tail and pull with all the strength he had in him. Like Viktor expected, the tail didn’t come off.

Yuri wiped his forehead then decided to give it a second try, but this time he made an attempt to remove the tail by grabbing a hold at what he thought would be the waist band. But he quickly discovered there was no space for his fingers to wriggle under. The blonde teen’s eyes widened in shock and surprise.

“I-It’s real…” Yuri stuttered, slowly backing away and pointing at the silver coloured tail that slowly started to show signals of drying out. Viktor wanted to point it out, but Yuri already ran out the door yelling that he would go get Yakov.

“Yuri, no!” Viktor tried, but the blonde skater was already out of hearing range. Not knowing what else to do and hoping it would work, Viktor grabbed the nearest towel and started rubbing his tail dry.

* * *

After the three abandoned mermen found themselves some clothes to wear, stolen from the local fishing boats washing lines harboured at the docks, they made way down the streets hoping they would eventually bump into the guy they were looking for. They soon discovered it was not that easy and that the coastal town was a lot bigger than expected. On top of that, their new legs were tricky to use and they kept swaying from left to right like drunken sailors on a ship during a storm, or occasionally fell face flat on the pavement. The last thing happened to Yuuri a couple of times.

“I don’t understand…how land dwellers manage themselves… on these STUPID things!” Otabek growled annoyed, ignoring the odd looks his passer-by’s gave him when he nearly knocked into a lamp post.

Phichit, walking a bit ahead and more confident and more straight than the other two, replied with a chuckle; “Stop complaining, Otabek. It will get easier, trust me. I mean, look at me…”

“Yeah, try saying the same thing after falling a couple of times,” Yuuri complained, looking unhappy at the scratches and bruises his body already had collected since he had left the water. Then, without noticing where he was going, he took another step and suddenly bumped into a person who came outside the nearby alley unexpectedly. Yuuri would have made another fall if the person didn’t catch him.

 “My apologies. I didn’t see you…” Yuuri looked up to find the source of the voice and stared straight into a pair of green eyes and a flirtatiously grin. The green eyes scanned Yuuri up and down momentarily and noticed the cuts and bruises. “Wow, you have very clumsy feet, don’t you?”

Yuuri blushed awkwardly then stuttered; “Yeah! I just got them today.”

“What?” the man frowned confused. Yuuri opened and closed his mouth, trying to come up with something, but a harsh voice interrupted him.

“You can let him go now!” Both Yuuri and the stranger looked over then noticed Otabek staring at them with a look of annoyance on his face. That’s when Yuuri realized he was still in the stranger’s arms, which made him feel even more uncomfortable.

“I will, as soon I’m sure your friend is fine,” the stranger replied then flashed a flirtatiously smile back at Yuuri. “My name is Chris Giacometti. What’s yours?”

Yuuri opened his mouth hesitantly but Phichit suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him from Chris’s arms then said; “Sorry, no time for introductions. We are kinda in a hurry.” Without waiting for a reaction from Chris, Phichit quickly directed Yuuri away and down the street. Yuuri nearly tripped a couple of times while being pushed forward.

Chris just smiled as he watched them leave then grabbed his phone.

* * *

“Ugh…Chris is out there flirting with cute local boys while my life as I know it is over thanks to that freaking thing that grows at the end of my body!” Viktor grunted annoyed as he glanced at the text Chris just sent him then threw his phone on the bed beside him and stared at the ceiling in sadness. “My life as professional skater is over.”

“Your life as professional skater was bound to end sooner or later, you know that right?” Yuri said with a lopsided grin as he spun the desk chair he was sitting on in circles.

Viktor threw a stink-eye at the blonde teen then turned his back on him and hugged his dog, Makkachin and sobbed; “I’m too young to go in retirement, and you know it.”

“You’re an old man, Viktor!”

“I’m only 23 years old, Yuri! Why do you always have to be so mean?” Viktor wailed with muffled voice. Makkachin sniffled at Viktor’s face trying to figure out what was wrong with her owner.

Yuri rolled his eyes then sighed; “Well, I don’t see the problem here. It was about time you stopped taking the spotlights and give the youngsters, like me, a chance. I just hope Yakov will not tell the reporters I suddenly believe in mythical creatures, because then my life as professional skater is over before it even started.”

“Then you shouldn’t have told him about me. It’s more than logical he thinks you’re crazy. I’m just happy he didn’t see it. He would have given me to a circus or scientist without hesitating.”

Yuri looked thoughtfully. “Let me get this straight. Once you’re submerged in water, you grow a tail? Once you’re dry again it disappears?”

“I hope it takes a whole body of water for me to transform. I mean, otherwise my life might become even more complicating if one drop of water spills on me.”

Yuri nodded in understanding then asked; “Any idea how this could have happened to you? I mean, this is real, right? Neither one of us is dreaming this?”

Viktor shook his head as he sat upright on his bed and pulled Makkachin onto his lap then spoke softly; “No, this is sadly not a dream. And to answer your first question, all I remember is that I woke up at the beach then saw someone looking at me around the corner of the nearby rocks.”

“Yeah, I remember you told us that. The face behind the rocks. The shimmer in the water. Wasn’t that all just a dream?”

Viktor shrugged then tried his best to recollect his memories from the moment he woke up and saw the face behind the rocks, but all he could remember was the shimmer in the water and him thinking it was the monster Hiroko and the locals talked about.

“We found you unconscious the next morning. Any idea how that happened?” Yuri suddenly asked, breaking the silence. Viktor shook his head. Yuri inhaled impatiently and said; “Well, this was a total waste of my time! If you don’t mind, I’ll go the rink and hope Yakov will not chop my head off for being late!”

Without waiting for a reply, Yuri stood up and left the room. Viktor inhaled a deep, heavy sigh then flopped back into his pillow and closed his eyes, slowly wandering back to the previous night. There had to be a reason for this sudden, extraordinary development, but what? What happened right after he saw the shimmering in the water? Had it been a fish or the monster everyone talks about? How did he end up unconscious?

A soft, sudden knock interrupted Viktor’s thoughts. When he opened his eyes he found Hiroko looking at him as she stood in the doorway.

“I’ve heard what happened last night,” she said with a worried look on her face then entered the room as Viktor moved back up into an upright position and patted his sleeping dog. “Are you okay?”

Viktor sent a tiny smile then replied; “Yeah. Apart from being a bit sore and stiff, I’m fine. ( _I’m also suddenly sprouting a tail when I’m submerged in water, but I can’t tell her that, can I?)”_ Viktor sighed. “Yakov won’t let me practice until the bruises are gone. I hope I won’t be in your way till then.”

Hiroko smiled warmly, sat down beside Makkachin and Viktor and said; “Don’t worry about that, dear Vitya. I would actually like the company. Most guests are just…well…being guests. They walk in and out, order food or other things then pay and leave. It’s nice having someone around who’s actually willing to have a chat with me.”

“You probably will take that back in a day or two or three. According to Yakov, my mouth never takes a break. Sometimes I even have conversations in my sleep,” Viktor laughed. “But I’m willing to do a few errands for you if you want me to. I hate sit around and feel useless.”

“That’s really nice of you, Vitya.” Hiroko smiled and wrapped an arm around Viktor then squeezed him into a brief side hug and said; “But right now I want you to eat something, because  you missed your breakfast this morning. How about I warm something up for you?”

“Thank you, Hiroko,” Viktor smiled thankfully then watched the friendly onsen owner walk back to the door. He hesitated for a moment but then blurts out; “Can I ask you a question?”

Hiroko turned in the doorway and smiled: “Sure you can, sweetie.”

“Do you know anything about mermen?” Viktor was even surprised for his bold question then immediately regretted it. How could he ask such a stupid question? She would certainly think he lost his mind.

Hiroko’s mind slightly panicked after Viktor’s sudden question, but she quickly controlled herself and frowned instead. Viktor quickly sent her an awkward smile.

“You know what, never mind.” Viktor chuckled nervously then added jokingly; “I must have hit my head pretty hard. I mean, asking random questions like that is just silly, right?” Hiroko didn’t really know what to say or how to look. Viktor kept blabbing nervously; “I’m not crazy, promise. I just blame it on the nasty fault I made last night. I mean, people hallucinate all kind of crazy things when they have a concussion, right? I…

“You’re coach might be right, you know,” Hiroko suddenly said, cutting of Viktor’s waterfall off words then smiled when she saw his confused look. “You’re mouth never takes a break from chatting indeed. Maybe I should quickly start on that breakfast, yes?”

Viktor nodded shyly.


	3. First Meeting

Viktor wandered aimlessly down the beach while Makkachin sprinted around having the time of her life. It’s been days now since the accident. The bruises slowly disappeared, and if it wasn’t for that tail appearing every time he came in contact with water, Viktor could have shrugged it off as a bad dream. But sadly that wasn’t the issue, and he had to learn a way to life with it and keep it secret from anyone else, which was both equally hard. Especially if he wanted to keep skating.

“Guys!” Yuuri shocked out as he surfaced inside the underwater cave. Phichit jolted awake but Otabek kept snoring as if he had not heard Yuuri. The latter didn’t take time to catch up his breath as he exclaimed; “He’s at the beach! I saw the guy walking on the beach! We have to follow him!”

While emitting sleepy grunts, Otabek mumbled; “Could you keep your voice down? I’m trying to sleep in today. Thanks to your previous stupid plan, my body still hurts at places I shouldn’t feel pain.”

“But we have to get back on land!” Yuuri shook Otabek impatiently then quickly ducked down when the latter tried to hit him. Then, without another word, Yuuri dove back underwater and swam outside.

Phichit, ready to follow his childhood friend looked at Otabek one more time and asked; “Are you coming or what?” Otabek couldn’t help but roll his eyes and grunt in annoyance as he followed.

A little while later the three mermen transformed into their legs then quickly pulled on the clothes they had stolen from someone’s backyard a few days earlier. Then they followed the silver haired man and his dog all the way to Yu-topia.

“About time!” Otabek growled angrily when he and the other two abandoned mermen watched Viktor and the dog disappear behind a fence, after a twenty minute walk. If his entire body already didn’t hurt enough before they left the cave, it definitely would now. But he decided to keep it for himself. He then glared at the sign on the fence that read ‘Yu-topia hot springs.’

Phichit read the sign as well then frowned; “I thought hot springs only existed in Iceland.

Without a word, Yuuri walked into the direction of the opening in the fence then peered around the corner. What he saw didn’t really look anything like the ‘hot springs’ from their pod members stories.

“You see him?” Otabek asked from behind Yuuri.

Yuuri shook his head, scanning the garden then pointed at the inn. “He probably went inside that large box. You think he lives in there with his pod?”

“Must be a small pod then. Ours would never ever fit in there,” Phichit said then looked at the rooftop and frowned; “If they do live in there, how will they be able to see the stars at night?”

“Who cares!” Otabek growled, stepping inside the garden then looked around. “Let’s find out how we get inside so we can find him and kill him.”

Yuuri’s eyes widened in shock then asked with tiny voice; “We’re not really gonna kill him, do we?”

“And what if we do? You gonna cry?”

“I don’t wanna kill someone, that’s all.”

“Why not? Mermen and mermaids have done it for centuries, trust me. The best way to handle this situation is by killing him. The pod will come back, and everyone will be happy.”

Tears jumped into Yuuri’s eyes. Phichit wrapped his arm around his shoulder for comfort then said; “Don’t worry, Yuuri, we’re not going to kill him. We’ll find another solution, okay?” Yuuri nodded. Otabek rolled his eyes then snuck towards the front door and entered the inn. Phichit and Yuuri quickly followed.

Once they were inside, the three mermen looked around. It looked so much bigger than on the outside.  Yuuri hoped they wouldn’t get lost in all those rooms as they looked for the silver haired young man.

“We should split up to cover more ground quickly. If you found him, zap him unconscious with your powers, or just kill him. I prefer the latter, because then our problems are solved faster, ” Otabek said then started to walk away. Yuuri and Phichit watched him leave.

“I don’t wanna kill him,” Yuuri said, his bottom lip trembled as he looked at his friend. Phichit smiled reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, Yuuri, you won’t have to. And you don’t need to worry about Otabek. He missed many lessons at mer-school, meaning, he can’t even use the basics properly. I doubt he knows how to kill someone with them.”

Yuuri looked slightly relieved hearing his friend’s words. Without saying anything else, the latter walked away to start his search as well. Yuuri inhaled a deep breath of air then started his search too.

After he had searched through three rooms with no results, Otabek started to wonder why humans had so much of the same things. Every room consisted of a bed, a dresser, a couch, and a small TV. Not that he knew what they were, but it just stunned him and wondered why one room looking like that wasn’t enough. Also, why so many rooms in the first place? Was this guy’s family, or whatever word they used for ‘pod’,  this large?

Otabek wiped his hair back in frustration then an indistinct chatter caught his attention. He looked around then found a see-through door. Though, it was quite hard to see what happened behind the door. All Otabek could see was a lot of steam blurring the glass of the door.

Cautiously the young merman scurried closer and closer. Carefully he reached for the door handle and opened the door slightly.

“Trust me, you don’t wanna go in there.” The sharp voice cut through the air and Otabek couldn’t help but jump up in surprise. He then turned around just as quickly and saw a blonde teenager. Otabek instantly recognized him as the ‘aggressive’ teen who was with the two older guys fishing nearby the underwater caves. His turquoise eyes pierced coldly at the door behind Otabek. “I just don’t understand why people enjoy bathing together, not to mention, like bathing in someone else’s dirt!”

“Uhm…” Otabek looked confused. He opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a loud scream coming from a different part of the inn. The scream belonged, without a doubt, to Yuuri.

The young merman was just doing his thing (search for Viktor) when suddenly a color-point ragdoll came strolling from one of the hallways into Yuuri’s. The latter’s eyes filled with horror and emitted a loud scream. Then, without waiting for the cat to attack him, Yuuri charged into the nearest room and slammed the door behind him, loudly. He then leaned with his back against the door, eyes closed tightly, and tried to catch up his breath.

“W-Who are you?”

Yuuri snapped his eyes open in shock, discovering he wasn’t the only person in the room. On the bed sat the silver haired man, patting a brown animal lying beside him.

“I-I…” Yuuri stammered.

Looking very worried at the scared young man before him, Viktor asked; “What’s wrong?”

“A cat!” Yuuri chocked out, pointing at the door behind him, his face as pale as the sheets on Viktor’s bed.

“Oh, that would be Potya,” Viktor said and smiled.

Quivering in fear and with a face as pale as the sheets on Viktor’s bed, Yuuri gasped; “It has fangs! Big ones! Sharp ones!”

“I take it your scared of cats?” Yuuri nodded rapidly. Viktor still smiled friendly as he eyed the sudden visitor in his room. Ever since he got home from his morning walk with Makachin, he had been lying on his bed, worrying about his new development, the tail. Having a sudden visitor in his room to talk, was a welcome surprise. “You can stay here with me until the cat leaves. I’ll make some room for you to sit.”

Yuuri watched how Viktor swiped a bunch of books off the bed with one single movement of his hand. They dropped onto the floor with a loud thud. Despite the loud noises and the sudden movements of his owner, the dog kept sleeping. Viktor sent another smile at Yuuri while patting beside him on the bed.

While scurrying closer shyly, Yuuri stammered; “T-Thank you.” He then plopped down and pulled his feet in. It was then when Viktor noticed they were bare, and bleeding as if he had been walking on them for days without wearing shoes. Viktor’s heart dropped in sadness and he couldn’t help but reaching out for them to ‘massage’ them gently. Yuuri pulled them further in with a frightened look on his face.

“Sorry. I didn’t want to scare you,” Viktor said, apologetically, then pointed at his strange visitor’s feet. “They’re bleeding. You should wear shoes.”

“Shoes…?” the young man asked warily. “What are shoes?”

Viktor was clearly stunned for a moment, wondering if the kid was joking or not. Blue hues met brown ones for a second.

Sensing he had asked a dumb question, Yuuri dropped his eyes ashamed, mumbling something inaudible. To Viktor it sounded foreign and he wondered which country his ‘new friend’ came from. Also, what is his name?

“I’m Viktor Nikiforov,” the skater said, hoping the change of subject would make the man next to him feel less uncomfortable. “And this is my dog Makkachin.” Viktor stroked the curls of his beloved poodle. Makkachin lifted her head up to lick her owner’s hand.

“Y-Yuuri,” the young merman replied nervously when he saw the dog’s big tongue and large fangs. Yuuri just couldn’t understand why Viktor wasn’t startled by them and just allowed the dog to ‘taste’ his hands.

“Your name is Yuuri as well?” Viktor’s voice cut off Yuuri’s train of fearful thoughts. The latter looked at Viktor who now stroked his chin. “Wow, this will be getting very confusing with Yuri Plisetsky around. Oh well, I can always call him Yurio instead. He won’t mind.”

Viktor sent a beaming smile towards Yuuri who couldn’t help but blush a little.

Meanwhile, Phichit joined Otabek and Yuri after hearing Yuuri’s screams. They looked for him everywhere, without any results. Phichit started to get really worried.

“Well, it looks like your friend just vanished in thin air,” Yuri said. “Either that, or he just fled outside and left you guys here.”

Otabek sighed deep. “Yeah, that definitely sounds like Yuuri.”

“Wait, your friend’s name is Yuuri as well?!” Yuri growled then clenched his fists. “Alright, listen you two! Don’t ever come back, especially not with that Yuuri person! There is only one Yuri allowed here, and that’s me!”

Otabek rolled his eyes. “Come on, Phichit. Let’s try find Yuuri somewhere else.” Both mermen turned around to leave when they suddenly spotted a color-point ragdoll sitting nonchalantly onto a side table in the corner of the hallway.

“Aagh! A cat!” Phichit screamed in fear, jumping up in fright then clung around Otabek like a scared child. The cat made eye contact with the two mermen then licked its mouth to savor the taste of the delicious meat Hiroko had given him. Thinking something entirely different, both mermen hearts dropped. “Oh no, he ate Yuuri!” Phichit dug his head into Otabek’s chest and started to sob. Yuri’s mouth dropped open, speechless. “What are we gonna do now?” Phichit sobbed.

While trying to wrestle himself free from the sobbing mess named Phichit then keeping him at arm’s length, Otabek growled; “Keep it together, will yah?! We are not sure Yuuri is eaten by that filthy creature.”

“Oi! Who are you calling filthy?!” Yuri roared in rage then bowled past the two mermen and scooped his cat off the side table and turned back around. However, the two visitors took Yuri’s move as an opportunity to escape from the cat’s fangs. Watching them bolt, Yuri yelled; “Yeah, you better run, you bastards! And don’t come back, because I will kick your asses if you do!”

Viktor swung the door of his room open then stepped outside and said; “Yurio, behave! I have a visitor and with the way you’re acting right now, you might scare him off.”

“Yurio?! How dare you?! My name is Yuri!”

“Not anymore,” Viktor sang while beaming like the sun. “Today I made a new friend, and his name is Yuuri. To avoid misunderstandings, I decided to rename you.”

Yuri turned red in rage. “Then just give him a different name!”

“I can’t do that, Yurio, and you know it. You can’t rename friends only because you get confused.”

“Uh? Isn’t that what you just did with me?!” A vein started to throb at the side of Yuri’s head.

Viktor frowned; “But Yurio, you always tell me and everyone else we are not friends.”

“Because we aren’t, you stupid old man! And stop calling me Yurio!”   

Viktor watched Yuri stomp off with his cat then noticed his new friend’s presence. When he turned he saw him stepping out of the room with a shy, apologetic look.

“Maybe I should go, Viktor. My friends are probably wondering where I am.”

Viktor looked slightly sad. “Will you come around again? I mean, there is so many things I want to show you. Like…see me skate.”

“Skate?” Yuuri tilted his head. He never heard of the word, but it definitely sounded interesting. He then dropped his head sadly, suddenly remembering he wasn’t there to become friends. Viktor was a threat. The reason his entire pod left and abandoned him and his friends. If he ever wanted to see his sister again, he had to eliminate Viktor.

“Yuuri, what’s wrong?” Viktor asked worriedly.

“I’m sorry…” Yuuri said, barely louder than a whisper. Then, without another word, he quickly ran away so Viktor couldn’t see the tears behind his eyes. Why? Why did the pod leave? Why wasn’t things going like they planned? Why did Viktor have to be a nice person? Things would have been so much less complicated if he was mean and dangerous. But he wasn’t. He wasn’t anything like the humans in the stories told by the pod when he was little. Why?

Yuuri kept running and running while silent tears dripped down his face. It didn’t take long before he finally reached the beach. The beach where his friends were already searching for him, hoping he was there. Yuuri didn’t hear them calling for him. He just kept running towards the waves then dove in and disappeared.

Phichit and Otabek shared a look. Their gut told them their friend’s heart, which seemed made out of glass, was shattered, again.

“Great. Just great,” Otabek muttered while Phichit dragged in a deep, sad sigh.

**Author's Note:**

> I am sorry for this sad, sad cliff-hanger, guys, but it felt better to save Viktor's reaction to his new development for the next chapter.
> 
> Anyway, just let me know what you think so far. comment or kudos if you're curious for the next chapter :D


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